A Cottage Grove man pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection to a metro bank robbery spree spanning three different locations. Michael Thomas Prall, 43, is accused of using force, violence and intimidation to steal thousands of dollars from three separate banks in Nov. 2021.

A 43-year-old Cottage Grove man has been federally charged in connection to a string of Twin Cities bank robberies that were carried out in Nov. 2021. Michael Thomas Prall is charged with three counts of bank robbery and made his first court appearance Wednesday.

A Waite Park, Minn., man accused of holding five people hostage inside a Wells Fargo bank branch in St. Cloud for more than eight hours last week has been indicted on a federal charge of bank robbery, facing a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

Authorities were at the scene of a bank robbery and hostage situation at a Wells Fargo bank branch in St. Cloud, Minn., for more than eight hours on Thursday afternoon and into the evening. They took the suspect into custody by 10:30 p.m. after four hostages were released and a final hostage leapt to safety.

St. Paul police are asking for help from the public in identifying the man who walked into the TCF Bank on the 400 block of Lexington Pkwy. N., pulled out a gun and demanded money from staff.